Caroline's news

The London Assembly has called on the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) to rethink plans to cull up to 800 jobs on the Underground because of the adverse affects for passengers.

The Assembly believes the proposed cuts will damage customer service and leave passengers feeling less safe at stations where only one member of staff is present, particularly early in the morning and late at night.

Ticket office hours will be reduced, forcing people into long queues for ticket machines. This will especially disadvantage passengers with disabilities who find it difficult to use the machines and who rely on Underground staff for assistance when travelling by Tube.

Caroline Pidgeon, the leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, has received further excuses from Transport for London about their controversial decision to remove seating from Bermondsey station.

Following questions to the Mayor of London it had already been confirmed that Transport for London have no plans to remove similar seating at Wood Lane tube station. Now this week Caroline has been informed that the decision to remove the seats at Bermondsey station was a decision by a sub-contractor to Tube Lines.

Commenting on the new development, Caroline Pidgeon said:
“The Bermondsey seat saga continues. The Mayor and Transport for London are being totally inconsistent in how they have dealt with this issue. They claim the initial seats were inaccessible at Bermondsey station, which is why they had to be suddenly removed, yet they are quite happy to leave exactly the same seats at the new Wood Lane tube station.

The Harrow Observer, the News Shopper and the Docklands24 papers all report on the revelation that the Jubilee line upgrade works have led to up to £12m in lost ticket revenue, as Boris Johnson admitted when responding to a question from Caroline Pidgeon.

In the News Shopper, Caroline says:

The upgrade of the Jubilee Line has turned out to be a case study in exactly how not to upgrade the tube.

There is now overwhelming evidence that carefully planned blockades of short sections of the tube for two or three weeks would be a far better way to upgrade the tube than the expensive fiasco of literally years and years of weekend closures.

You can read full coverage in the Harrow Observer, the News Shopper and at Docklands24.

Caroline Pidgeon AM joined Cathedrals Ward Councillors David Noakes and Geoffrey Thornton to visit the new Blackfriars Station, to hear about progress to date on the new station which will span the Thames, and to hear what the construction team is doing to help with noise issues affecting some Bankside residents.

The site visit allowed the team to see how the materials are shipped in along the Thames, and how the team are working on one side of the Bridge, before shifting over the Christmas period to start the same process on the other side.

“It was amazing to see the works on this new station, part of the Thameslink programme. Ultimately though, unless the next phases of the Thameslink programme are secured, the increase in capacity for passengers won’t be realised” commented Caroline Pidgeon AM.

Caroline spoke at a fringe meeting at Lib Dem Conference in Liverpool hosted by Transport for London.

Caroline highlighted the unique challenges in the capital with a growing population and ageing infrastructure and the need for the investment through Crossrail and the tube upgrades to keep London moving.

Caroline also expressed concern about accessibility improvements being cancelled due to budgetary constraints. TfL spent £20 million on Step-free access projects at Amersham, Greenford, Ladbroke Grove, Newbury Park, Osterley and West Kensington stations. These have now been halted before the work has been completed.